As the Shadow Beasts broke the stalemate, the Ten Dons' subordinates poured madly into the compound.
The Shadow Beasts displayed overwhelming, crushing power!
Members of the Muka family were being slaughtered unilaterally. Yet because "players" were covertly lending support, the mafia troops—though they seemed to have the upper hand—couldn't penetrate into the core of the estate in a short time.
The only force truly capable of a rapid push was the Shadow Beasts.
The Ten Dons' men were pinned down by the Muka family's excellent battle plan.
There was no one‑sided dominance on the field.
Xiang Nan saw at a glance that the Muka family was using guerrilla tactics:
― Relying on their familiarity with the terrain, they used small numbers to split the Ten Dons' troops, forcing them to fight on the outskirts so the invaders could not form a single, solid line.
― The mafia rank‑and‑file had little combat training—just hot‑blooded thugs with no discipline. Whenever a lone Muka squad ambushed them, they bit instantly, chasing after the attackers hell‑bent on wiping them out—exactly what the Muka family wanted.
With guerrilla tactics and home‑field advantage, the Muka family could use mere headcount to tie down the Ten Dons' forces for a while.
The Shadow Beasts, for their part, couldn't spare energy on these small fry: even if all ten of them struck at once, killing everyone would still waste time—time in which the Muka boss and execs might already flee.
Those low‑level grunts were never the Beasts' real target; ordinary mafia goons could handle them…
The Beasts' mission was to kill the Muka family boss and the Nen user pulling strings behind him. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novel★fire.net
So, by their own strength alone, the Shadow Beasts smashed through enemy lines and charged straight into the heart of the Muka compound.
Right at their objective.
They reached the estate's only lit building
—and in a spacious, luxurious hall on the roof they found their prey.
Interestingly, the enemy seemed to have foreseen this: with both sides' foot soldiers bogged down, the first to reach Muka headquarters would unavoidably be the Ten Dons' ace strike force, the Shadow Beasts.
Hence the building had no advance traps or extra guards.
After dispatching the ordinary gangsters outside, the Beasts strolled in with ease, heading straight for the presence they sensed.
Even the front doors were wide open, as though the Muka family had set a stage to welcome them.
Pushing open the hall doors, Owl sauntered in with his companions.
With his eye for tactics, how could he miss the Muka family's ploy?
What intrigued him was who had given a declining, old‑school mafia clan the nerve to think it could handle the Shadow Beasts.
Even knowing it was a "setup," Owl stepped in willingly.
The other Beasts, too, were happy to taste whatever excitement the enemy could offer.
The hall was bare—clearly tidied beforehand, lit only by one huge, brilliant chandelier.
As the ten of them strode inside, a group that had long been waiting looked up: more than twenty Nen users!
Owl smiled, quite delighted.
No wonder the Muka family dared oppose the Ten Dons.
So the intel was wrong: the dossier said they kept only a dozen Nen users.
For an old underground syndicate that was already impressive—most gangs lack the money, skill, or channels to hire or train so many.
Counting those fighting outside and those Xiang Nan had killed, the Muka family really had nearly fifty Nen users.
In sheer numbers they even surpassed the Nen squads serving any single Don.
"Relying on numbers?"
Leech grinned. "Do they actually think more heads means victory?"
He fired the taunt at Owl.
A sheep is a sheep, a tiger a tiger—one tiger is still nothing a flock of sheep can provoke.
Even so, almost forty Nen users gathered at once made the hall crackle with tension, thick with the smell of gunpowder.
"Seeing you still here, I'm relieved," Owl said, eyes narrowed at the twenty‑odd foes. "You must be Muka Arlie's core fighters. The Ten Dons have sealed off this entire district, so he can't run—only hide. You ought to know where."
Xiang Nan sized them up too—honestly, he couldn't tell which one was the player. The scenario had long since begun, and the system's visibility blocks were lifted; without self‑disclosure, appearance alone gave nothing away. But his gut said the Muka player was in this very group.
Just then, a woman seated in a chair inside the circle of Nen users slowly rose, meeting Owl's gaze. "Leader of the Shadow Beasts, Owl… at last we meet."
The moment she spoke, Xiang Nan knew: it was her.
"So unfamiliar… We haven't met, have we?"
Owl kept both hands in his pockets, as sloppy and carefree as ever.
"Someone of your stature wouldn't notice a nobody like me. As a denizen of the underworld, I've simply long admired the Shadow Beasts by name." She smiled sweetly, but her eyes paused—startled—on Xiang Nan.
He laughed to himself: she's probably wondering why an unfamiliar face stands among the Beasts.
She looked the archetypal mafiosa: long hair, suit jacket draped over her shoulders rather than worn, white shirt beneath, black high heels.
Her gaze rested on Xiang Nan barely two seconds before turning back to Owl. "As for the Muka boss—don't worry, he's not dead yet."
"You're very confident… From your tone you sound more like the helmsman of the Muka family," Owl said coolly.
"I understand the Ten Dons' anger. We Mukas undeniably offended them. When we expanded, we didn't know the city of Galvis belonged to them; once we learned, we withdrew at once. If the Ten Dons will forgive us, we're ready to show full sincerity and ease tensions. Of course, the underworld still revolves around the Ten Dons—we know that well."
"But if they truly leave us no way out, we can only fight to the end. We can't just lie down and be butchered, can we?" She smiled lightly.
"Telling me this… is useless."
Owl shrugged. "We just carry out orders. If the Ten Dons want you dead, nothing can stop it."
"Even if the Shadow Beasts die here too—no problem?"
Frost glinted in her eyes.
"If you can manage that… go ahead, try."
At his words, several Shadow Beasts who'd been itching to move bared their teeth and lunged.
The Nen users around the woman attacked simultaneously.
The two sides clashed at once.
"May I sit this one out?" Xiang Nan asked, raising his hand.
"Of course. Shouldn't take more than a few minutes—there aren't many of them and they don't look strong. Frankly, having all of us act is the greatest honor they'll get before dying," Owl nodded.
Then he strolled forward unhurriedly.
Xiang Nan stepped back a few paces, prepared to watch.